


A Possible Future

by utterlycliche



Category: Anne with an E (TV)
Genre: 3x08, Canon Divergence, F/M, One Shot, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:15:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25531951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/utterlycliche/pseuds/utterlycliche
Summary: A take on what would have happened if Anne ran after Gilbert during episode 8 of season 3.[Anne admits she's drunk and Gilbert tries explaining himself again and they actually communicate]
Relationships: Gilbert Blythe & Anne Shirley, Gilbert Blythe/Anne Shirley
Comments: 12
Kudos: 237





	A Possible Future

**Author's Note:**

> This wasn't edited by anyone sooooo forgive any typos or mistakes.

The raucous noise of drunken teenagers signified the end of an era. A new chapter in all of their lives. The night air filled with smoke from the bonfire made earlier that evening. And by that bonfire, Gilbert Blythe’s heart seemed to stutter and drop. He watched as his former classmates dragged Anne away, closer to the bright flame. 

_ Turn around _ , he begged silently, hopefully. He stood and looked at her long, red hair - her back facing him, rejecting him. He walked away. 

Anne stared at the fire dancing in front of her, as the sound of her dearest friends seemed to fade away. Her thoughts were both slow and frantic all at once - a consequence of the shine and the life-altering news Gilbert had revealed. 

_ He was going to Paris. Going to the Sorbonne. He’ll have his dream. With Winifred - an incredibly beautiful and intelligent woman.  _

She hadn’t known what to say at that moment. Too startled by the implication that he might...well, he seemed to have feelings for...her. Anne. 

_Gilbert has feelings for her._ _And she told him to propose to someone else. Even though she…_

Anne registered someone’s voice calling her name - Tillie or Josie - but her mind was on the boy who walked away. Did she love Gilbert? What did it feel like to be in love? 

“ANNE! Hello? The ritual?!” It was definitely Josie this time. Anne’s name said with a sneer that was all too familiar. 

“Huh? I...uh,” Anne started, and they all giggled at her. 

“Anne doesn’t have any words! What a surprise!” Josie said, and the girls started laughing even harder. 

Anne shook her head and tried to focus, but the look on Gilbert’s face infiltrated her mind. She didn’t know if she loved him. However, she was certain that she didn’t want him to marry someone else. And somehow she hadn’t told him that. 

She messed up. 

“I’LL BE BACK!” Anne yelled. She started running, ignoring the calls from her friends to come back. Ignored the questions about where she was going or what she was doing. To be honest, she didn’t know what she was doing. But she needed to find -- 

“GILBERT! GILBERT!” Anne called his name into the night as she ran past the building where they had finished their exams. She called his name as she ran towards the trail that led to the city. 

“GILBERT!” 

Gilbert stopped, and turned around. Did someone call…? He squinted his eyes and saw Anne stumbling towards him, her path crooked, and her torso leaning slightly too forward. Despite her awkward stance, he felt a surge of warmth rise in his chest. His heart, which just moments ago had sat at the depths of his torso, thudded at the sight of her. 

“Anne?” He asked when she was finally close enough. He watched as she bent forward, hands on her knees. She gulped air into her lungs, and unfortunately the running and adrenaline and alcohol caused her to dry heave. Gilbert startled at the noise.

“Anne! Are you alright?” He moved closer to offer her a hand, but she put up her own hand to stop him. 

“Yes! Yes.” She coughed, and stood up. Anne closed her eyes and leaned her head back, trying to catch her breath and feel some sort of equilibrium. After a moment, she stood normally and opened her eyes. Gilbert stood about 3 feet away, lamp in hand, a flurry of emotions on his face. 

She opened her mouth to say something - anything along the lines of “I love you maybe” or “stay with me” or “you actually like  _ me _ ?” or “take the money and go to Paris you fool!” - but instead what came out of her mouth was much less elegant. 

“I, uh...I am drunk. I think.” 

She watched Gilbert’s brow furrow and give her that confused look he reserved only for her. 

“You’re...drunk? How did you…?”

“Shine. Someone brought shine and we drank it and played Red Rover and so words are…” she took a breath. “Hard. Words are hard right now. So just…” She put up a finger to indicate that he should wait, and he nodded. 

He took in her wide-eyed expression and flushed face. He must have been too distraught to notice before, but it was clear now. Anne never failed to surprise him. He put the lamp on the ground, and gestured to the spot next to it. “Maybe we should sit.”

Anne nodded and plopped herself down next to the lantern. Gilbert looked around to see if anyone was coming down the road, and once he saw that the road was clear, he sat down on the other side of the light. 

The two of them looked at each other silently. Faintly, they heard their friends jeering at one another. The chirping of insects close by. Gilbert felt his heart start to drop again. 

“Anne, we don’t have to talk about any of this right now if you feel...We can talk tomorrow, or you can forget everything I said.” 

Anne watched his Adam’s apple bob and his jaw clench. She wondered what it would be like to put her hand there, on his jaw. Feel his pulse against her palm. 

“You have a  _ splendid _ chin.” 

He smirked, and tilted his head. “Well...thank you. You are the first person to tell me that.”

“Well that is a misfortune because it is truly splendid, Gilbert.” 

He laughed and soon she found herself laughing, too. The tension eased. Why did she run after him again? What did she want to say? Oh that’s right. 

“Gilbert…” The smile on her face dropped, and she watched as his did, too. He steeled himself for the rejection. The inevitable ‘No - sorry’ to come out of her mouth. 

“Gilbert...I never want to be the thing that holds you  _ back _ . If...I...he’s offering you  _ everything _ .” Anne gestures wildly, her arms sweeping in front of her. “After all of the injustices you have had to endure...you deserve true happiness.” Anne’s gaze dropped to her hands, and Gilbert watched her fidget with the hem of her dress. “A marriage with Winifred offers you true happiness.” 

He took in her words, felt them tumble around his head. “I didn’t mean to imply that you were holding me back. You, Anne, have  _ never _ held me back. You have only ever pushed me forward. To be a better student, a better person.” He paused, and she looked at him. The light from the lamp reflected in her eyes, and her hair glowed in the yellow halo. He felt his hand twitch as he refrained from reaching forward to push back her hair. 

“Perhaps I should explain my feelings again.” 

He looked at her, silently asking if that was okay, and she nodded eagerly. 

“The only reason I am uncertain is because I can’t leave if there is any possibility...for us. In the future,” Gilbert said, treading carefully, his eyes on her face. “Yes, Winnie’s father is offering me opportunities that would otherwise seem impossible. However…”

Anne’s heart stuttered, and Gilbert took a deep breath before continuing, “Those opportunities pale in comparison to a future with you.” 

She felt her jaw drop slightly, and his eyes seemed to burn a hole in her. A future with her? “A future with me...over the Sorbonne?” 

“The Sorbonne isn’t going anywhere, and like I said before, I’ll get there. Someday.” He smiled, and shrugged. “Anyway...I would rather go to Paris with you.”

_ He wants to go to Paris with her.  _

Immediately, her mind jumped to the future. A vision of Gilbert and her strolling arm-in-arm along a Parisian street. Both of them looking absolutely elegant (why wouldn’t they in her fantasy?) and, most importantly, looking blissfully happy. Really, and truly, happy. He was asking her if she could possibly envision a future together, when Anne couldn’t picture any sort of future without him. 

She smiled widely, and felt tears start to spring in her eyes. She leaned forward, and held his hand in hers. Gilbert hesitated, uncertain of what she was thinking, but turned his palm towards hers. He squeezed her hand fondly. 

“If you truly believe the words you are saying,” Anne said breathlessly, “and you promise not to resent me for taking away your dreams, well, then...a future with you, Gilbert Blythe, sounds quite wonderful.”

He wasn’t sure if he heard her correctly at first. “Are you saying…?”

She laughed, her smile even wider than before, and nodded. And with that he felt his whole body thrum. A jolt of joy he felt from his toes to the crown of his head - the energy bouncing around his chest. 

He took her other hand and held them tightly, and Anne leaned towards him as she did. The two of them looked at each other - disbelief, wonder, and awe. Anne looked at his lips and wondered if he would kiss her. Wondered if she should kiss him.

He wanted to - of course, but he willed his gaze away from her mouth and to her eyes. Her lids were drooping, eyes still glassy - not now. Instead, he lifted her hands closer, and pressed his lips firmly against her fingers. Anne felt herself blush, the warmth from his lips still there as she pulled away. 

“Why don’t we continue this conversation later?” Gilbert suggested. “When you’re feeling…”

“Not drunk?” Anne finished. He chuckled, and nodded. 

“Yes. Not drunk.”

He stood up and helped her to her feet. The two brushed the dirt off of their clothes, and continued to look at one another. Savoring this moment. The beginning of something. 

When Gilbert spoke, he felt the need to whisper. “You won’t change your mind before then, right?” 

Anne didn’t understand why he would suggest something so silly, a quippy retort already on her tongue. Then, she looked at his eyes, and saw his wariness. Saw the concern that she would run away. She supposed that precedent had made that a logical fear.

“My mind is set. No need to be concerned.”

He felt his shoulders drop with relief. “Well, then. It seems I have to make my way back to town. It wouldn’t be fair to Winnie if I waited any longer.”

Anne nodded, feeling a twinge of guilt for the woman. Winifred was lovely - she had meant that. A really lovely person. She hoped that she found the right person in the future. 

“I should go back as well. Make sure all of them are still standing.” 

Gilbert grinned, “You might want to keep an eye on Moody. He falls a lot without any liquor in him. I can’t imagine how he fares otherwise.” 

They laughed, and he continued, “I can walk you back if you’d like.”

She shook her head. “You don’t want it to be too late when you get there. I can walk myself.”

“Oh, I know.” He raised a brow, playfully. “You, Anne of Green Gables, are very capable of taking care of yourself.”

The two of them started to back away from one another, neither one of them wanting to be the first to break the stare. 

Gilbert couldn’t help himself. “May I see you tomorrow?”

Even in the darkness, Anne could see the smug smile on his face. Just a year ago the sight of that smirk made her want to smack him. Now, it made her want to kiss him senseless. How thrilling. 

“Yes. You may,” she said with a playfully formal tone. Then she remembered. “In fact, you must. It seems you still have my pen. I was without it this morning during my exam.”

Gilbert thought back to where he had placed it. He could picture it on his desk at home. Clear as day. “My apologies. I will be there, pen in hand.” 

In the distance, they heard the girls yelling Anne’s name. They could hear them getting closer. Gilbert looked over her shoulder and saw their figures in the distance. He sighed and gave Anne one more piercing look.

“Until tomorrow, then.”

Anne felt her pulse quicken at the idea of it. The possibility of tomorrow with Gilbert. And the next day. And the next. 

“Until then.”

* * *

(He brought the pen as promised - wrapped delicately amongst some foliage and a plain white ribbon. The sight of him on her porch with a pen wrapped so beautifully just about did her in. She threw an arm around his neck and kissed him, which he returned with eagerness. Until they both heard Marilla’s voice from the window - “MY WORD!”

Anne pulled away, and Gilbert immediately dropped his arms by his sides and shoved his hands in his pockets, “Sorry, Marilla!” Anne said, to which she responded “I - I - Anne! Come in here please!”

_ Worth it. _ ) 


End file.
